Ephemeral Peace
by BelleDayNight
Summary: Takes place after manga issue 663 after the war Sasuke has returned to the village to throw a wrench in Naruto's plans to gain Sakura's affections and earn the title of Hokage. There is a new band of mercenaries intent on exploiting the bijuus. Sakura's life hangs in the balance. Just what will Naruto be willing to sacrifice to save her?
1. Chapter 1

**Ephemeral Peace**

_Summary:  
__Takes place after manga issue 663. __After the war Sasuke has returned to the village to throw a wrench in Naruto's plans to gain Sakura's affections and the title of Hokage. There is a new band of mercenaries intent on exploiting the bijuus. Sakura's life hangs in the balance. Just what will Naruto be willing to sacrifice to save her?_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It is the master piece of Masashi Kishimoto. He is awesome._

* * *

**Chapter One: Of Frogs and Slugs**

She couldn't get the memory out of her head. He almost died! If Gaara hadn't been cool-headed and determined, if she had depleted her chakra too soon, if she didn't know C.P.R., if Minato hadn't sealed half of the Kyubi inside of him sixteen years ago– all these ifs! If these things hadn't happened, her best friend, Naruto Uzumaki (or Namikaze as people were now calling him) the hero of Konoha wouldn't be alive. He wouldn't be sitting at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand next to Sasuke laughing about some asinine joke three weeks after the fact. And that was another thing – Sasuke was back.

Sakura stood in the entrance of the ramen stand unsure of herself. She'd just finished a long shift at the hospital. Team Seven seemed to be getting along just fine without her. The men – Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, and Kakashi trained together regularly. There really didn't seem room for her anymore.

"Oh, hey, there's Sakura," Naruto said to Sasuke. He waved her over towards an empty stool on his right at the counter. "Come and join us, Sakura!"

Sakura smiled softly at her friend's enthusiasm. It was so hard to believe that not long ago his face had been still as stone and she feared she'd never hear his voice again. She approached her two old teammates and could feel Sasuke's cold onyx eyes on her as she took the unoccupied stool next to Naruto.

"Hello, Sakura," Sasuke said quietly. His deep voice still sent chills down her spine. She knew they were allies once more – maybe even friends. He was impressed with her ninja skills and would never label her as useless. She too trained under the tutelage of a San-nin. But she still remembered the madness behind his eyes, the bloodlust with which he tried to kill her. She couldn't kill him; her hand was stayed by her feelings for him. However, he didn't hesitate. If Kakashi and then Naruto hadn't appeared in the neck of time she'd have been dead either from a searing chidori through the heart or her own poisoned kunai directed back at her.

"Hi Sasuke," she greeted while she actively avoided looking at him. She focused her attention on the limited menu of the ramen shop. "Miso ramen, please," she ordered of the owner's daughter Ayame that waited on them.

"We missed you at practice today," Naruto said. "There wasn't nearly enough destruction to the training grounds without you there. Most of the trees are still standing!" he added with a laugh. His bright, blue eyes twinkled in amusement.

Sakura stared down at the counter space in front of her. A glass of water had been put in front of her and she toyed with the beads of perspiration on the outer part of the glass. "I was needed at the hospital. You have a four-man squad without me," Sakura said.

"You are part of our team," Sasuke said. "Every team needs a medic."

"Team Guy didn't have a medic," Sakura pointed out. Then she regretted having brought up Neji's old team. Maybe if they had a medic he wouldn't have died.

"And what happened to Neji?" Sasuke asked tactlessly.

Naruto cleared his throat. "So, I was thinking you could join us at practice tomorrow. I want to go on an A-class mission soon and I want my whole team with me. What do you say?"

"I thought you'd be applying for Anbu," Sakura said. "Both of you, really."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged looks. "Granny Tsunade won't let us join Anbu. She says we're too young and that she actually gets more job requests because we're sort of famous and people want us to help them," Naruto said turning back to Sakura. He pointed his chopsticks in her direction. "And they want you too, Sakura."

"And we refused to take any missions unless you were part of our squad," Sasuke added.

"Really? But I thought you'd gone on a mission with Hinata. She's a skilled healer and she's a good sensory ninja. And Sasuke, your old teammate Karin is also a healer and sensory type. I can heal, but I can't sense anything," Sakura said shaking her head.

"Hinata's father won't let her take any more missions, but then she and Sai didn't really get along either. And we don't need another sensory ninja – that's what Sai can do. And besides, Team Seven is more known for our strength not for our spying," Naruto explained. "And Karin annoys Sasuke."

"You are my teammate," Sasuke said stubbornly. "Naruto and I agree on this. We want you."

Sakura was hesitant about taking missions since the war. She still woke up in the middle of the night sometimes after having a dream where she failed to save Naruto. She hadn't been alone with him since the fight with Madara when she and Gaara had saved his life after Kurama had been extracted from his body. Naruto was clueless that he had been her first kiss, though technically it was only a part of the C.P.R. that she had performed.

"All right," Sakura agreed. "I do miss missions." Sakura's ramen arrived and she sampled the noodles. They were warm and salty – what wasn't to love? "What about your lessons with Lady Tsunade?" she asked Naruto.

"They're exhausting!" Naruto cried. He laid his forehead against the counter and then angled his head so that he could look at her. "She makes me file paperwork and read boring documents and sit in on meetings with the elders. At least Kakashi-sensei is there too. It looks like he'll be the next hokage and I am favored after him because he says he's just waiting for me to grow up a little more and that he'd be happy to give the title to me!"

Sakura laughed as a very clear picture of her teacher came to mind. Kakashi didn't want to be hokage, but he was clearly the best man for the job. After having seen all the former hokages during the epic battle with Madara she could say that she believed Kakashi Hatake had what it took to be a great hokage. The only problem with the line of succession meant that even when her Master Tsunade wasn't hokage that she'd still be helping the next pair of hokages.

"Unless he gives it to me," Sasuke said quietly. When Sasuke returned to fight alongside them in battle he made bold proclamations that he sought the title of hokage. Given his lack of popularity due to his time as a rogue ninja Sakura didn't feel it was a very realistic goal, especially with Naruto as competition. Danzo coveted the role of hokage from Sarutobi, the third hokage, and it drove him to do unspeakable acts.

Sakura finished her ramen and listened as Naruto and Sasuke conversed without her. She pulled out her pocketbook to pay for her meal when Naruto reached over and placed his hand over hers. "It's on me, Sakura."

"Thank you," Sakura said smiling at the unexpected treat. She put her money away. "I appreciate that. I need to go home. It was nice sharing dinner with you two." Her parents expected her home soon. She had thought about renting an apartment, but she was hardly ever home with her long hours at the hospital or when she had extended missions. It was pointless to have an apartment that was neglected and empty. She had two living loving parents – a rarity amongst ninja – and she wanted to treasure their relationship.

"I'll walk you home," Naruto said. He hopped off his stool, left payment for the food and smiled at Sakura. "See you in the morning, bastard," he called back to Sasuke.

* * *

**OoO**

Naruto walked alongside his long-time teammate and closest friend. Sometimes it still boggled his mind that the crush from his days as an academy student, Sakura Haruno, was his very dear friend. When they'd first been selected for Team Seven he had no idea that the ensuing years would bring forth all the struggles and challenges. He's always been inconsequential compared to the prodigy Sasuke Uchiha, but then little by little encouraged by a sense of rivalry and proving himself Naruto became the hero of Konoha. He became the ninja that children dreamed of becoming when they were grown.

And then after Sasuke left and he and Sakura had gone off to train under their respective masters there were plenty of times he thought he'd never see Sasuke as an ally once more. He enjoyed fighting alongside Sakura – both having their talents honed by their masters. If he hadn't been in love with Sakura before he left with Jiraiya he certainly was after he returned. Sakura had always been smart, but now she was strong.

Gaara told him what Sakura did for him when he was so near to death after Kurama had been taken from him by Madara. She had very little chakra and yet she managed to prolong his life long enough to re-insert the bijuu. She'd literally held his heart in her hands and breathed air into his lungs through his mouth.

If only Naruto had been awake to appreciate having Sakura's lips pressed against his!

"You don't have to walk me home," Sakura said. She glanced over at him almost shyly with her arms crossed over her chest. "My parents aren't far from here."

He had argued with Sasuke quite a bit before Sakura had entered the ramen stand. They were both interested in Sakura. Sasuke wanted to see if she still meant to help him in any way she could like she promised when she was twelve. Naruto pointed out that since that confession she'd confessed to loving him on a snowy day in Earth Country. And that considering over the past year Sasuke had tried to kill her at least twice that he deserved a chance to see what Sakura's feelings might be. Sasuke hadn't exactly agreed with his reasoning and had given him the evil eye when he left with Sakura after dinner.

She'd been avoiding them both hiding away at the hospital. She'd been invited to the team practice sparring sessions, but she declined them. "Non-sense, Sakura. The guy always walks the girl home after a date," Naruto answered with a cheeky grin.

"A date?" Sakura raised a pale pink eyebrow.

"Yeah, I paid for your dinner, that makes it a date," Naruto said.

"I see, well, I would have preferred if I had been asked," Sakura said. She relaxed her arms and they fell to her sides. "I suppose it's a better date than the time we spent three days trapped in Obito's illusionary world."

Naruto grinned. She didn't argue that it was a date. That was a good start. He decided to be even bolder and reached for her hand. He pressed his palm against hers and entwined their fingers. Hers remained loose for a moment and then she slowly tightened her hand to hold his. "Sakura, you held my heart in your hands," he said quietly.

Sakura's hand spasmed in his grip. "I remember."

Naruto took a deep breath and steeled himself. "I was wondering, were you able to feel my feelings? They haven't changed," Naruto said. He stole a quick peek at her to see the surprise on her face.

Sakura stopped walking and pulled Naruto to a halt next to her. "Naruto, I was so worried I was going to lose you forever. You may be annoying, but you're Naruto! You're my Naruto," she whispered. Tears gathered in her jade eyes, spilling silently down her cheeks. "I don't know what I would have done if I had failed. My chakra was almost gone and you weren't breathing. Your heart had stopped pumping. Gaara had this wild idea, but it was an idea!"

"So you beat my heart for me. You breathed my breaths for me," Naruto said softly. He used his free hand to brush the pad of his thumb under Sakura's eyes and dried the tears.

"I couldn't lose you," she said with a wavering smile. She cleared her throat and started forward once again, but didn't relinquish her hold on his hand. "Come on, it's time you met my parents. They've been wanting to meet you for some time. And it's only fair. I was able to meet your dad. The Fourth was amazing."

Naruto felt his heart speed up, the same heart that Sakura held between her hands scant weeks ago. She, Gaara, and his father Minato had devised a way to save his life. By the time he'd regained consciousness his father was gone. Gaara hold told him that Sakura and his father had spoken privately, but he wasn't sure what about. One day, he hoped that Sakura would tell him. "I wish you could have met my mom too, she was something." And very similar to Sakura by way of violent personality.

"Okay, just a word of warning, my parents are a little over-whelming," Sakura said as the approached the residential neighborhood where her family lived. She let go of Naruto's hand and took out her front door keys from her pocket and unlocked the door. "You ready?" she asked glancing over her shoulder.

Naruto nodded, unable to speak. He could feel a slight uneasy sensation as if he were being watched. A quick scan of the streets showed him that Sasuke was standing in the shadows watching them. Naruto's jaw clenched. He didn't care if Sasuke was watching – he had his chance with Sakura. It was Naruto that Sakura had decided to introduce to her parents.

The front door opened before Sakura could turn the knob and a tall, muscular man with wild spiky pink hair loomed over them in the doorway. "Are you going to stand here all day or are you going to come inside already?" he asked.

"Naruto, this is my father," Sakura said with a nervous smile. "Kizashi."

"Good to meet you, kid," Kizashi said enveloping both Sakura and Naruto in a giant bear hug and pulling them inside the house in the process. "Mebuki! Sakura's home and she finally brought Naruto over!"

"Dad," Sakura groaned. "Can you let us go? It's hard to breathe."

"Certainly," Kizashi said releasing them. "We have some umeboshi if you're interested."

A manic gleam lit up Sakura's jade colored eyes. "Really? Of course we're interested!"

"What's umeboshi?" Naruto asked.

"It's to me like ramen is to you!" Sakura answered. She grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled him alongside her down the hall.

Naruto still didn't know what umeboshi was, but he was looking forward to finding out just what put such a smile on Sakura's face.

* * *

**OoO**

"And then I told Sakura that she needed to get out there and show those boys who's boss!" Kizashi said with a thunderous laugh. He hit his knee repeatedly amused by his own mirth.

Sakura covered her face with her hands. "Dad, do you have to tell everyone that story?" she asked embarrassed.

"But honey, it's one of your father's favorites," Mebuki said as she gathered their desert plates. They'd been sitting around the Haruno family's dinner table eating umeboshi and listening to her father recount stories of Sakura's youth.

"I remember that," Naruto said grinning with his fox-whiskers prominently displayed by the action. "I was on the playground that day. I saw you climb the tree on the playground higher than any of those older boys did."

"You didn't even know me then," Sakura said shaking her head and touching Naruto lightly on the forearm. "And they said I was too girly with my pink hair and too weak to keep up with them. So I surpassed them all."

"Indeed! I was so proud! Your mother was yelling at you about being reckless but I knew my little girl was going to be a ninja from that day forward," Kizashi said nodding his head sagely. "And look at you! Hokage's apprentice!"

"What time is your shift tomorrow, dear? It's getting late," Mebuki said. She pointed toward the large clock hanging on the wall. It was almost midnight! How did it get so late? It was barely past seven-thirty when she and Naruto arrived.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but I have a shift in six hours. I really need to sleep," Sakura apologized. She hurriedly pushed away from the table. "I'll walk you to the door."

"Thanks for having me over," Naruto said bowing politely to both her parents.

"Come back anytime!" Kizashi said.

"You come over and eat some real food sometime. I better not hear of you living off that terrible ramen noodles," Mebuki admonished. "We always have extra."

"Thank you," Naruto said. He followed Sakura into the hallway toward the door. "And I did remember you from the playground. I remember clearly the day you climbed that tree. I remembered because I had a big crush on you even then." Naruto's eyes took on a far-away look. "You were always so nice and the things you would say were so smart. I'm not very smart, so I really envied that about you."

She had no idea that Naruto had a crush on her even before their academy days. It was humbling. "You're getting smarter," Sakura said with a slight blush. "I hardly ever have to beat you up for saying stupid things anymore."

Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "At least you can heal me up this time."

Sakura opened the door and they stepped outside onto the front stairs and stared at each other in silence.

"Thanks for having me over, Sakura-chan. It was really nice to be part of a family event that wasn't in an elaborate genjutsu," Naruto said bringing up their adventure in Obito's very realistic illusion.

It was stupid. Sakura was standing outside the front door of her house with her closest friend and she felt nervous. "I should have had you over soon. Maybe now that we should be in an era of peace you can come by more often."

"Um, one more thing, Sakura," Naruto said. He was staring down at his feet and he shifted his weight from side to side uncomfortably. He looked up shyly. "Since you agreed to call this a date, I don't suppose you'd give me a good night kiss?" he asked with a hopeful twinkle in his eyes.

Sakura's first instinct was to hit him hard on the head. She checked that instinct and considered his request. She had kissed him once sort of. "Why do you want to kiss me?"

"Because I don't want my first kiss to be the time I fell onto Sasuke's face when we were kids," Naruto said with a scowl.

Sakura giggled at the memory. It was funny now, but devastating at the time. "Well, technically, I already kissed you."

"Preferably when I'm not dying and you're not having to manually pump my heart," Naruto said rolling his eyes.

"All right," Sakura agreed.

"Really?"

Sakura nodded.

She and Naruto slowly began to lean in toward one another. She stared into his bright blue eyes and could feel her heart speeding up and then Sakura could hear the sound of a loud explosion. Alarmed, she turned her head in the direction of it and felt Naruto's lips brush against her cheek. "What was that?" Sakura asked. "We need to go check it out!"

"Oh come on, Sakura!" Naruto whined. "It's probably just Choji being clumsy. Let's try that kiss again."

"Later, we need to see what's going on! Let's go, hero," Sakura said taking hold of his hand. "I think it came from the front gates."

"Fine," Naruto agreed. "But you owe me a kiss."

* * *

_A/N: So this story is a birthday present to my good friend Hai who is a huge Naruto x Sakura shipper. He approved this first chapter so I thought I might share it with y'all. _

_2/12/14_


	2. Chapter 2

**Ephemeral Peace**

**Chapter Two: Caught!**

Naruto kept stealing glances at Sakura as they ran toward the source of commotion. Not two minutes ago she was complaining about it being late and now her eyes were bright with the alertness of a ninja. She was just as fast as him, though he suspected she was cheating and lacing her feet with chakra to enhance her speed. If he hadn't been in love with her since childhood he certainly wouldn't be able to resist now.

They came to a fork in the road. "Which way?" Sakura asked pausing. She turned to him, trusting his judgment. It thrilled Naruto that she would follow him. The whole of Team Seven looked to him for leadership. Even Kakashi deferred to his judgment, saying it was too much for his old heart to make all the decisions, though in reality he just wanted to read his Icha Icha novels in peace while his teammates did all the harm work.

"Right," Naruto said. He took a moment to process the smells his sensitive nose picked up. He scrunched up his nose at the stench of chemical burn. It had been a bomb much like the type that Deidara used, but slightly different. He could feel his anger rise at the affront of having someone dare to break the peace and tranquility of his village. Kurama, the nine-tailed bijuu within, agreed on that account and their mutual decision to defend their home was solidified.

The streets were eerily silent after the large explosion, most of the citizens of Konoha were snug in their beds oblivious to the ruckus. The lights were off in the surrounding apartments and residences, but the light of the moon — three quarters full in the sky illuminated the path. After Pain's attack almost half a year ago parts of Konoha were in shambles. With all the able-bodied ninjas having less missions away from the village in the new era of peace many sections were rebuilt and improved. Naruto had personally been involved in a good portion of the rebuilding. His easy use of Shadow Clones made him a valuable asset when it came to construction. He was manpower in the classic sense.

By the time Sakura and Naruto arrived at the Naka Shrine, a newly expanded district of the village, they were part of a dozen shinobi that had arrived to investigate. Kakashi raised his hand in greeting and waved them over to his side. Shikamaru stood next to him running his hands through his spiky, long hair with an annoyed expression on his face.

"What's going on?" Sakura whispered.

Naruto crackled his knuckles in anticipation. Whoever interrupted his much anticipated kiss with Sakura was in for a world of pain.

"Not sure yet," Kakashi said. "I have a feeling this was only a distraction from the true attack. This area is the least populated due to its recent construction."

"There is another section that is even less populated," Shikamaru said. As soon as the words were out of his mouth a series of three explosions went off in the area of the former Uchiha district. "Troublesome," he muttered.

"Sasuke might be in trouble," Sakura said, casting Naruto a worried look. She was biting her bottom lip and her eyes were anxious.

"Nah, the bastard can handle a few explosions," Naruto said confidently. "Let's go offer back up anyway. There's no reason he should have all the excitement," he said. Naruto closed his eyes briefly to focus his chakra and go into Sage mode. The surge of energy pulsing through him was impressive, but after the Fourth Great Ninja War it was hardly strange for him. Naruto scooped up Sakura into his arms. She narrowed her eyes at him angrily as he took off at a quick run. "It's faster this way," he explained. As a dust cloud began to form around him at his speed she clung to his neck and buried her face against his chest. Naruto resisted the urge to smirk.

Sai joined them on one of his ink birds. The artist flanked Naruto until they reached the Uchiha district. The area was on fire and there had to have been at least fifty shinobi in full black armor with no distinguishing marks.

Sasuke was there, holding his ground against a quintet of foreign ninja. The four ANBU guards that had been stationed outside of Sasuke's home were also there and likewise outnumbered.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sai entered the frey. Naruto and Sasuke stood back to back, while Sakura and Sai did likewise. "What's going on?" Naruto called to Sasuke over his shoulder. He rammed a Rasengan into the stomach of an approaching pair of ninja and sent them flying into a nearby building. They slumped to the ground unconscious and bloody.

"I have no idea," Sasuke grunted. He blew a fireball jutsu at a nearby enemy. "Wait, the basement of my cousin's house," Sasuke said. He took off towards a nearby building and Naruto took off after him.

They arrived just in time to see a masked ninja standing over the trapdoor to a basement with two other ninja flanking his sides. He had a scroll in his hands with crimson ends and he was stuffing it into a storage tube. He looked up and met Naruto and Sasuke's gazes. He wore a mask like Kakashi's, but even then his cruel smirk was clearly visible. He and the two ninja vanished out the window, just barely before the throwing ninja stars that Naruto released plunked into the boards behind them.

Naruto and Sasuke took off after the trio. He could see that reinforcements had arrived in the form of Kakashi, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. The latter three must have just returned from a mission as they had been absent for several weeks. Sakura and Sai followed them and the four-man squad followed after the three masked ninja with the mysterious scroll.

They ran through the wooded area deep within the Fire Kingdom. The invading masked ninjas didn't pause until they reached a clearing. Two of the ninja stayed back, while the one with the scroll continued on. More black-garbed ninja swarmed out of the edge of the forest on all sides.

Naruto took a deep breath and started to go into 6th path sage mode. He could feel his hair growing and his features changing ever so slightly in the transformation. The ground under his feet began to light up and a seal revealed itself. Naruto found himself bound to the earth. "It's a trap!" he warned his friends. This was not a hastily created seal, but one that took sufficient time and effort to create. These ninja expected them to follow after them — him particularly.

More ninja appeared and began to flash hand signs and Naruto can feel his powers being drained. Sakura showed up and punched one of the hand signaling shinobi revealing that it was a clone. She crushed her fist into the earth, shattering the ground under Naruto's feet, and destroying countless enemy ninja around them — they were mostly shadow clones. Sai took to the air on an ink bird, taking Sasuke with him, to avoid the crumbling earth.

Naruto fell to his knees on the unstable ground, however the seal remained intact. 'I could really use some extra chakra right now, Kurama,' Naruto thought to his inner beast.

'Couldn't you just ask how my day was? You always want this or that. I'm starting to feel used here,' Kurama answered back with a sigh. 'These guys smell familiar,' he added. Naruto could feel his chakra increased by Kurama's power.

Not all the enemy ninja were shadow clones. Naruto was able to start breaking the seal using Kurama's chakra against the restraints.

"Impossible!" One of the enemy ninja cried out. He looked to the two men at his side and they struggled to strengthen the seal against Naruto. There were five men total holding up the seal.

Sakura kicked one of the seal-holding ninja in the head with a powerful roundhouse, knocking him away from the circle they formed around Naruto. The strength of the seal wavered without his added concentration. Sai slashed another with his short sword and the ninja went skidding away from his partners.

Sai jumped in against Sakura's back and blocked a ninja star from hitting her spine and took it in his shoulder. He and Sakura stood back to back as they rotated around the reinforcement enemy ninja that had approached the seal locking Naruto. A wave of ink lions emerged from Sai's scroll. The lions' attack was followed by Sakura's monstrous strength and Sai's sword. Sakura looked toward where the retreating ninja went and then cast a questionable look at Naruto.

"Go on!" Naruto cried out to them. "I'll be out of here soon. I'll catch up!"

Sakura nodded and she and Sai took off in the direction of the man who took the mysterious scroll.

"Who are you guys?" Naruto demanded.

The masked men said nothing. He didn't really expect them to. He focused on freeing himself from his entrapment.

"It's all right, I'll beat some answers out of you later," Naruto promised with a fanged grin. The enemy ninja paled noticeably. He shifted his eyes around the field. He couldn't see Sasuke anywhere.

Sai came back to the field on an ink horse, his skin covered in blood and barely keeping conscious.

A flare shot into the sky. The five ninja that were holding his seal in place seemed to receive some sort of message from the flare. In unison they leapt away and vanished from the field. Naruto remained partially bound and he focused on severing the hold completely.

"Sai! What happened? Where's Sakura? Where's Sasuke?" Naruto demanded.

Sai took shallow, raspy breaths. He took a scroll and using his blood for ink he created an owl. It was sent off in the direction of the vanishing enemies. "They took her," Sai whispered hoarsely. "The scroll and she were their target all along."

"No," Naruto denied shaking his head. The cursed seal still held him in place. He could feel it weakening, but even when he managed to break it so much of his chakra had been drained he'd be useless in a fight.

"My owl will track them," Sai said with an attempt at a reassuring smile. He failed at the smile. "I suspect Sasuke went after them."

Naruto screamed in frustration and pounded his fists on the broken ground. Who were these people? What was in the scroll? Why did they want Sakura?

Kakashi appeared on the scene, his expression worried. His ninja dogs were at his side. He looked at Naruto and then kneeled down and placed his hand on the remainder of the seal and broke it completely. "My ninja dogs led me here. The trail for those invading ninja end here at this field." He surveyed the broken earth. "Where's Sakura?"

"They took her," Naruto said, grinding his teeth. "We need to find her, now!" He took a step forward and fell to his knees, weakened. Kakashi lurched forward and caught him before he could fall completely. "That way," Naruto said pointing in front of him in the direction that Sakura had taken off towards.

"Not in your condition," Kakashi said. He looked in the indicated direction then down to his ninja dog pack. Pakkun shook his head, there was no scent trail. "Must have been someone with the same abilities as Obito — manipulation of time and space," Kakashi reasoned.

"My ink owl is tracking them," Sai said.

"It won't do any good unless it managed to enter the same teleportation portal," Kakashi said. "For now, let's go back to the village. Maybe there are some clues as to their objective."

* * *

**OoO**

It was dark, damp, and cramped. Sakura felt like she'd run face first into the side of a mountain. She opened her eyes wider, but it didn't help. It was dark as pitch. She sniffed and detected the scents of earth and mold. She was underground.

"You awake?" a familiar, masculine voice asked beside her. He shifted and she realized that she was sitting back to back against Sasuke.

"What happened?" Sakura whispered.

"I assume you were caught in the chakra draining net that caught me," Sasuke grumbled. "After being caught in a genjutsu."

"That's not possible. I have a natural aptitude to dispel genjutsus and with your Sharingan the same is true for you," Sakura argued. Who were these people that were able to contain Naruto and trap Sasuke in a genjutsu? They had obviously defeated her and Sai — also a formidable pair, but she wasn't arrogant enough to consider that a nearly impossible feat.

"I think that the scroll was only part of their objective," Sasuke said. "It came from my family's secret vault. I have no idea how they would know about it."

"Oh, look! Our guests are awake!" a deep voice cried out.

A lantern was lit, casting a faint light in the center of the room. A hooded figure crouched perpendicular before them, shadows stretching out far behind him and offering a good view to both Team Seven members. He pushed back his hood to reveal dark hair, pale skin, and a pair of Sharingan eyes. "Did you rest well, nephew?" he asked, directing his eyes at Sasuke. He shifted his gaze to Sakura. "And you are the Hokage's apprentice. That pink hair makes you distinctive."

"My family is dead," Sasuke growled.

"You probably thought that about Madara and Obito, now didn't you, boy?" he asked. "We still exist, just not part of the Leaf."

"What do you want?" Sakura asked. She strained her wrists against her bindings. It was of no use without her chakra induced monstrous strength.

"Me? I want a nice warm bed, a ship's worth of sake, and red meat every day of my life," the man said with a grin, his canine teeth were particularly sharp and prominent. "However, I believe the man in charge of our little gang has more lofty goals than I. And for some reason he wanted you two."

"We're just a couple of low-ranking ninja," Sakura said.

"The Hokage's apprentice — a prodigy in the realm of chakra control and medical jutsus and the last surviving son of Fujaku Uchiha. He'd have preferred to Itachi, but rumor has it he died twice all ready." The man reached over tapped Sasuke in the forehead with his index finger. "Hopefully you're worth the effort, runt."

Sasuke grunted and jerked away from the man's touch, hitting the back of his head uncomfortably against Sakura's in the process.

"In the mean time, I suggest you sleep," the man said. He sent a surge of medical chakra to both Sakura and Sasuke's forehead — right over the frontal lobe of their brains. Sakura could feel her body shutting down as she was being forced into a medical coma. She hoped that Naruto would find a way to track them down before too long.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ephemeral Peace**

**Chapter Three: Long Lost Relatives**

Naruto refused to leave the clearing outside of the woods. He sat on the ground lotus style with his arms crossed over his chest and stared into the trees waiting for Sai's ink owl to return. He didn't have the energy to crawl, much less to chase after Sakura and Sasuke, but as soon as he did he was going. When he expressed his opinion, Sai sat beside him sharing the same resolution.

"You two are impossible," Kakashi said with a sigh. He crouched low and rubbed Pakkun behind the ears. "Okay, boy, I need you to bring back Shizune."

"Of course," Pakkun said. He looked into the woods, his dark eyes sad. "We'll get her back. We know her scent and the pack will keep scouring the woods until we find her. Make sure he's okay," the dog said nodding his head towards Naruto. Kakashi's ninja dogs had a great deal of affection for Sakura, though for Sasuke they were still wary. Naruto suspected that if only Sasuke had been taken that the efforts to find him would be less.

After dispatching Pakkun to the village, Kakashi sat down beside Naruto on his other side. "If you won't go back to the village, I'll see that Shizune comes and heals you here."

"You're the one that taught us never to abandon a teammate," Naruto growled. His hands clenched in the earth and he pulled out fistfuls of grass. He knew he couldn't go after Sakura or Sasuke — his two best friends. He couldn't even stand, but as soon as he could he'd be off. "I will not abandon either of them."

"I know, I'm too great of a teacher," Kakashi said with a sigh laying back. He crossed his arms behind his head and stared up into the sky. "I'll get permission from Lady Tsunade to speak with Obito. Maybe he'll know what was taken from the Uchiha compound." After the war, Obito was kept imprisoned in a section of the hospital. His injuries were too great for a regular prison cell and the elders had decided to keep him alive for his arcane knowledge — it made him too valuable to kill for his crimes. Though, truth be told, if Obito didn't want to be contained he could have easily escaped with his teleportation techniques.

"Does it matter?" Naruto asked. "It was some other forbidden jutsu. Everything with the Uchihas is something forbidden." He and Sasuke had made their peace. The Sage of the Six Paths had explained to both Naruto and Sasuke about their fate. They were the reincarnated souls of his two sons, who later became the Uchiha and Senju clans. Together they were to usher in this new era of peace. How could they do that together if they were separated?

'As soon as this Shizune comes to heal you I will track them down,' Kurama promised. 'A pesky ninja dog has an inferior nose compared with my senses.'

"You realize that you are most definitely the one that they wanted, right?" Kakashi asked. "The trap set especially for you was supposed to contain you so that they could capture you. Sakura is most likely a bargaining chip. They know you'll do anything for your teammates."

"Then why didn't they take me?" Naruto shouted, his voice hoarse.

"I disagree. They were targeting Sakura," Sai said. His face was even paler than usual. He had lost too much blood from his wounds. "If it was just capturing Naruto's teammates then why didn't they take me? They fought to kill me. Sakura was ensnared. It was not their intention to harm her physically."

"Kakashi! What happened?" Shizune said, entering the field and hurrying to their side.

"Help Sai first," Naruto grumbled. He was weak, but he wasn't going to die. The bloodstains on Sai were growing darker.

Shizune nodded and used her green healing palm technique over Sai's wounds.

* * *

**OoO**

Naruto walked the streets of Konoha. He'd just left a strategy meeting with Shikamaru and Kakashi. Shikamaru pleaded for Naruto to give him more time to devise a rescue plan. He feared that the abduction was only the start and that the real battle lay before them. They would wait to move after Sai's ink owl returned. Kakashi's ninja dogs had found a dead end, but were still off hunting for clues. Since the mysterious group's goal was to capture Naruto he wasn't to go after them until they could ascertain a degree of their agenda or locate their whereabouts. At Kakashi's request, the Godaime Hokage Tsunade had placed the village on high alert.

As he walked aimlessly and tried not to let his feelings of anger and frustration drive him to do something rash, he came across the Hokage herself. Tsunade was sitting by herself on a bench with a sad expression marring her pretty features. Naruto sat beside her without invitation. If anyone had felt a sense of loss akin to his own it would be the Godaime Hokage.

"I just finished speaking with Sakura's parents. I told them that she had been abducted, but that they obviously wanted her for her skills and that they wouldn't harm her," Tsunade said staring down at her hands.

"How did they take it?" Naruto asked. He had thought about going by the Haruno household himself.

"As well as can be. They said she was a shinobi of the Leaf and that they had confidence that she'd return to them. They also said that there was no way that Naruto Uzumaki was going to let anything happen to her," she smiled faintly.

"Believe it," Naruto mumbled lacking his usual optimism.

"This is the spot where I held my last conversation with Jiraiya before he left on his last mission," Tsunade said quietly, breaking the uneasy silence that hung over them. She turned to face him, her honey-gold eyes were sad and red-rimmed from crying. "I know how you feel, Naruto. To know that someone you care about is in danger and not knowing what to do about it."

"I know what to do about it. I just don't know where to look," Naruto argued. "We can't just sit here while they're in trouble."

"Waiting is often the hardest," Tsunade agreed. "I don't want you to be like me, Naruto." She reached for Naruto's hand and gripped it tight with her monstrous strength. Naruto grimaced at the pain, but didn't snatch his hand out of hers. "Don't be like me. You cannot let Sakura go without a fight."

"Granny Tsunade, you've lost so many loved ones. I won't let you lose your precious apprentice," Naruto vowed. "I'll get her back for both you and me."

"I know you will," Tsunade said. She released his hand and wiped the tear trickling down her cheek with the her knuckles. "You brat, calling me a granny. I never even had children so it's a rather cruel joke."

"Not true. Sakura is like a daughter to you," Naruto said. Tsunade smiled at him sadly, but said nothing as she stared forward. People walked past them and their bench chatting and laughing with one another. Children played tag in the streets. Life went on even when your world came crashing down around you.

Naruto thought back to Master Jiraiya. He'd been missing in action for over two years. He still found it hard to believe that he was really gone. The sound of wooden geta sandals scraped across the pebbles of the street. He looked hopeful to see if it was the Pervy Sage, but it was just a random citizen wearing a pair of geta sandals.

"I don't even look up anymore," Tsunade said.

Naruto clenched his hand into a fist over his knee. "You should never give up on hope. I know that I won't."

* * *

**OoO**

Elsewhere, in the depths of the sea a consciousness stirred. For almost two years he'd been sealed within the gelatin-like shell of a toad egg. His summons contract had saved him from the brink of death. His former student, Nagato, had defeated him. The Akatsuki had grown strong and while Jiraiya had his suspicions about their true leader he'd been taken out of the fight before he could do anything, but leave a cryptic message on the back of a toad for Konoha's intelligence to interpret.

He emerged from the watery prison that had been his home for the past many months. He had to trust that his prophesied student, Naruto, had defeated the great evil that had threatened the land. Now, it was time to rejoin the land of the living and make sure that Tsunade hadn't done anything too reckless in his absence. He'd brought her back to Konoha to serve as the Godaime Hokage.

He glanced down at his bare feet and frowned. It looked like sometime during his battle and his watery trance that he'd lost his sandals. His clothing were in tatters and he was ravenously hungry.

It was going to be a long journey.

* * *

**OoO**

Naruto was at Ichiraku Ramen stirring his noodles idly, his appetite long since lost. Iruka had invited him to share a dinner with him at the noodle restaurant. They sat side-by-side at the bar. His former teacher spoke about some of his academy students, but Naruto was hardly listening.

"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei, but I'm just not feeling very social this evening," Naruto apologized. He set aside his chopsticks and pushed his bowl away with a heavy sigh. "I can't stop worrying about them."

"I know, Naruto," Iruka said quietly.

"Did I ever tell you about my longest date with Sakura?" Naruto asked, a fond smile gracing his lips.

"No. Why don't you do that now?" Iruka asked.

"We were talking on a bridge and Obito, back when he was posing as the masked man, found us. He placed us into an all encompassing genjutsu. It felt like we were truly in an alternate version. There was another me there – dark haired and dark hearted—that went by the name of Memna. My parents were alive and we had a normal family with dinners together and laughing. It was so real! However, in this alternate world Sakura's parents had been the ones lost in the Nine-Tails' attack when we were babies. Her father was the face on the Hokage monument," Naruto recalled. "The Akatsuki were good guys led by Itachi – though I suppose it turned out that Itachi was a good guy after all."

"A hero in so many ways, may he rest in peace," Iruka agreed.

"We were there for what felt like weeks. Everyone was different. Hinata was a cruel and arrogant girl, Ino was painfully shy, Kiba was a cat person, Shino hated bugs, Choji was lean and trim, Shikamaru was an idiot, Sasuke was a lady's man, and Neji was a pervert! Eventually we broke the genjutsu and returned to our lives here in the village. I asked Sakura out on a date and she told me, that we had just gone on a date!" Naruto shook his head and grinned. "Can you believe that? We were trapped in a world of illusion for what felt like weeks and she considered that a date!"

Iruka chuckled quietly. "That sounds like something Kakashi would consider a date."

Naruto opened his mouth to say more, but promptly shut it when he felt the presence of two ANBU behind him. He shifted on his stool to face the masked shinobi.

"Naruto Uzumaki, your presence is requested by the Hokage," the cat-masked ANBU on the right said.

"I'll be there shortly," Naruto answered.

"We're to escort you," the bird-masked ANBU on the left said.

"All right," Naruto said sliding off his stool. "Sorry about this, Iruka-sensei," he apologized.

His old teacher smiled at him, the scar across his cheeks and nose crinkled slightly. "It's fine, Naruto. I'll see you around." Iruka reached for Naruto's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "You'll find them."

Naruto and the two ANBU shinobi headed directly for the Hokage's tower jumping across rooftops to save time. When he arrived at Tsunade's office he found that Kakashi, Sai, and Shikamaru were already there. The ANBU guards bowed at Tsunade and promptly left the room.

Tsunade sat at her desk with Shizune standing like a sentinel behind her as usual. "Messenger birds have arrived. The other villages with jinchuriki were attacked."

After the end of the fourth great ninja war aside from Naruto only two others possessed tailed-beasts. Gaara, the Kazekage of the Sand, held Shukaku the one-tail. Killer Bee, the brother of the Raikage, held Gyuki the eight-tails. And Naruto, as the Sage of the Six-paths contained Kurama the nine-tails beast, but also the other six biijus. Kurama was the one that spoke with him on a regular basis, but the others were there, always present. As an Uzumaki he possessed the natural ability to contain a bijuu. As the Successor to the Sage of the Six Paths his limits were unknown.

"Bee has been captured and an attempt was made on Gaara. He proved too great a challenge given the security placed around the Kazekage after his capture by the Akatsuki years ago. Kakashi did explain that the seal that had trapped Naruto was specifically aimed to capture him, but couldn't work," Tsunade explained.

"So, they are after the tailed-beasts," Shikamaru surmised. "Why? Surely, they don't think that they can pull off what Madara failed to pull off. Naruto is the Sage of the Six Paths. No one else could handle the power that he has been entrusted."

"The jinchuriki were created by siphoning off the individual tailed-beasts. I'm sure their goal isn't too different than having control over such power," Kakashi said. "The Akatsuki took the bijuus and stored them until Madara could bring into play his true plan."

"This means we're dealing with some powerful shinobi with arcane knowledge," Shikamaru said.

"There are no leads to Bee's capture, but I suspect it's the same people that captured Sakura and Sasuke. The Sharingan was known to control tailed-beasts and Sasuke also possesses the Rinnegan. Sakura's medical skills also make her an attractive acquisition," Tsunade said.

"My ink owl returned twenty minutes ago," Sai added. "I have a lead on where they might have taken Sakura and Sasuke."

"And my ninja dogs have already been sent to investigate," Kakashi said.

"You all will be rendezvousing with a squad from the Land of Lightning. There will be a medic on their team. Your mission is to retrieve your missing comrades," Tsunade ordered. She handed Shikamaru a folder. "This entails the abilities of the Lightning ninjas."

Shikamaru sighed. "It's troublesome, but, I'll factor their abilities into my strategy," he said.

* * *

**OoO**

A dark cloaked figure entered the lair with the bulky unconscious body of Killer Bee slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He looked towards Sakura and Sasuke and his eyes glowed crimson in the gloomy underground.

Sasuke was delirious with chakra depletion, but his mind was still functioning enough to question how a man with the Sharingan might exist.

"How is that possible?" Sakura whispered, echoing his thoughts.

Sasuke shrugged. "I do not know. Perhaps the Uchiha clan did not join Konoha in entirety when the village was established," he reasoned. Fractions always existed even in the most cohesive of clans and he knew that the Uchiha clan had been anything but cohesive.

The cloaked man dropped Bee on the stone floor. "He keeps breaking my genjutsus. Someone sedate him in the first dungeon. If I have to hear another rap from him I'll kill him." The man stared back toward Sasuke and Sakura. "Where is the other one? I wanted all three of them."

"Izuna, sir, the Sage was too strong for the seal. He had too much chakra remaining when his allies arrived and we were forced to retreat," one of the men said. He pushed off his hood and revealed a scratched through forehead protector from the land of Sand.

"Missing ninja," Sasuke whispered to Sakura. The name Izuna bothered him. As the son of the clan head he knew the names of all the Head Families of the Uchihas. Izuna was the name of Madara's younger brother. However, he had died and his eyes had been removed. Was this a descendant of his?

"Take this one," Izuna said prodding Killer Bee's unconscious form with his booted foot. "You did manage to recover the tablet at least?"

"Yes sir," a missing ninja from Lightning said. "We've secured it in the library as you asked."

"At least you're not completely useless," Izuna said. He started towards Sasuke and Sakura's corner of the room. He crouched in front of them and reached for Sasuke's chin. He angled his face side-to-side inspecting his eyes. "I hear you have the Rinnegan."

"I won't help you," Sasuke said, spitting in Izuna's face. "You're messing with the wrong people. We took down Madara Uchiha. You think you can compete?"

Izuna calmly wiped off the spit and then without taking his eyes from Sasuke, he hit Sakura in the gut. She grunted in surprised pain. "You disrespect me, Sasuke Uchiha, and I make your little friend hurt in ways you never imagined. I have uses for her, but she doesn't need to be fully intact for what I have in mind."

Sasuke strained against the chains binding him, but there was nothing he could do. "Don't hurt her."

"That's entirely up to you," Izuna said. He turned towards Sakura and pulled back his fist hitting her across the jaw. "This one's feisty! Look at the hatred in her eyes for me – like green fire!"

"Leave her alone. What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"Why your cooperation is all I'm asking for," Izuna said with a cruel smirk. "And you're only two-thirds of the team that took down Uncle Madara." He glared at the men behind him. "The Sage was left behind." He stood up and brushed his palms against the thigh of his pants. "Take him."

Two men, one from Mist and one from Earth, came to Sasuke's side and lifted him under the armpits. He looked back at Sakura as they began to drag him away.

'Naruto will come, don't worry," Sakura mouthed. Her face was an explosion of angry purple bruising along her jaw, but she gave him a reassuring smile in spite of it.

Sometime later, Sasuke woke up with a terrible headache, muscles extremely fatigued, and dangerously low chakra levels. He tried to reach up to rub his throbbing temples only to discover that he was immobilized at his appendages and torso. There was a terrible taste in his mouth from a gag. He opened his eyes and saw that he was strapped to a table in what appeared to be a medical operation room. There was a bright light above his head and he averted his eyes and tried to blink out the green that had clouded his vision from the shock.

"Oh good! You're awake!" A face peered over him. Sasuke opened his eyes to slits so that he could see a little bit. The man hovering over him wore surgical goggles over his eyes and a mask across his nose and mouth. He held up a syringe. "Now this is going to hurt, so feel to scream. However, if you struggle or use that eye on me then my friends will kill the girl."

Sasuke grunted a warning. He would kill this man. He'd have activated his Sharingan if there wasn't a risk that their threat against Sakura was very real. Izuna and his fists had already proved that he had no qualms about hurting Sakura. Considering the group's ability to capture both Sakura and him, he wasn't about to tempt fate. He and Sakura would have to trust in Naruto. The sharp sting of a needle pierced the right side of his neck and whatever substance they were injecting into him burned like fire.

Sasuke would have screamed, but the gag kept the sound to a low murmur. His vision began to dim.

* * *

_A/N: Just so you know, this won't be one of those long, drawn-out stories. It will be fast paced and a lot of things will happen. I anticipate 10 chapters, but we'll see! _


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